"It is better to give than receive."

I love that phrase. Most of the time, it's correct. One exception is, of course, when you get a really badass gift. Another is if we're talking, er, you know.. sexually. Ahem.

Anyways, I received some pretty badass gifts from my girlfriend--two dvds and two cds so far, and apparently there's at least one or two more things coming. Which is great because receiving is pretty damn good, too.

The first of the dvds is 300 which pretty much needs no explanation or introduction at all, unless you live under a rock. It's easily one of the most ridiculously awesome movies that I've ever seen. It really is a "must-see" movie--the visual effects are stunning, and the violence is just superb. Granted, the story is not necessarily "true" in the historical sense, but I think that it captures the essence of Greek story-telling pretty well. Ancient Greek mythological writing, even the "historical" stuff like the Illiad, is full of references to weird critters, and the Gods manifesting themselves, and possibly the Gods manifesting themselves as strange critters that fornicate with young ladies. Zeus, you cad!

The second dvd is Hero, a movie in which I first found out about Donnie Yen, who is also a badass. Hero is a beautiful movie visually, and the plot is intriguing and interesting, as well as horribly, deeply depressing. The director, Zhang Yimou is becoming a favorite of mine, because of his amazing sense of visual style and his captivating storytelling. Although oth Hero and Curse of the Golden Flower are terribly depressing, they're incredible movies.

I also got two cd's, Beneath the Sky's "What Demons Do to Saints" and All That Remains' "The Fall of Ideals". Beneath the Sky is my newest discovery, and although my girlfriend still laughs when she hears them (it's a long story), I really like them. They're a bit young, but the lead singer has some incredible vocal skills. He's got more metal-range than a lot of older (and more popular) metal bands.

Oh, also, I linked a lot of things.